The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Erie Street Station set to open in August
Downtown Willoughby’s newest restaurant, is preparing to open in the former location of Burgers and Beer.
Erie Street Station, downtown Willoughby’s newest restaurant, is preparing to open at 4027 Erie St., in the former location of Burgers and Beer.
The pasta house/tavern, designed to be a family friendly establishment, is owned by Peter Naer; his fiancee; Meghan Hammond; and her father, Pat Hammond.
The trio decided to venture into the restaurant business together when Meghan heard from a co-worker that Burgers and Beer had closed and went up for sale.
“I was telling her that when we were little, my dad used to joke about getting a pizza place that served beer,” Meghan said. “I called him and mentioned that it was for sale, and I guess from there it went into us all becoming partners and going in on it together.”
The name of the restaurant came from Meghan, according to her father.
“It might have been from when we first came in here and first started looking at it,” Pat said. “I mentioned to Meghan and Peter that the first time I was ever in this building, it was the Greyhound Bus Station, and that was back in the 1950s.”
Pat said that they continued to talk about that and thought it would be a nice theme for the restaurant using photos of old bus stations and buses, and maybe some of old Willoughby.
Naer, who also will serve as executive chef, described the restaurant as a pasta house and noted that a pasta house is different from an Italian restaurant.
“Obviously, pasta dishes are different,” he said.
The menu contains a variety of dishes from three to four different restaurants that Naer, who started in the industry as part of a family run business, has pulled from restaurants he has been involved with over the past several years.
“The appetizer menu is more Oriental, we have crab rangoon, sticky chicken and stuff like that,” Naer said.
There’s also the burgers and sandwiches.
He also pointed out: “This place, 16 years was called Burgers and Beer, so obviously we aren’t getting rid of either one of those.”
The menu also offer such items as wraps, pasta dishes, and entrees such as blackened salmon, New York strip steak, and chicken Dijon.
Naer said that they have a good selection of wine to pair up with the pasta, in addition to stocking everything from India Pale Ales to Coors Light, along with mixed drinks.
“At this point, we haven’t written a select menu as far as specialty cocktails, but that would be something in the future we could come up with,” Naer said. “For right now, we have the normal Jack and Coke and stuff like that.”
When asked to describe what they thought the atmosphere would be like, Pat likened it to a split personality, with one side of the restaurant resembling a pub or local tavern and the other side a dining area for families.
According to Pat, the bar side will have subdued lighting, a jukebox and televisions, designed to draw the younger crowd, the bar crowd or the sports fans. Meanwhile, the dining side will have larger tables and brighter lighting, where people can find a comfortable atmosphere for family dining.
The restaurant also features a patio in the back for family dining during the warmer months.
“If you walk in the door, we want you to feel invited to come in with your family,” Naer said. “We are family and we want this to be family friendly.”
In addition to being family friendly, the owners want to be community friendly as well.
According to Naer, as a way to thank the first responders in the community — the police, fire and rescue, EMTs, and military — a 10 percent discount will be giving to those in uniform or showing identification.
“It’s our way of trying to kick something back to them for the work they do and to thank them for their service,” Naer said.
He also notes that the new restaurant has signed up to participate in the Palumbo Pub Crawl on Aug. 5 as well.
Pat noted that he was pleased with the response that Erie Street Station has gotten from other restaurant owners in downtown Willoughby.
“Our colleagues down here, they are very helpful to us,” he said.
Naer added: “We are the definite new kids on the block, but everyone has been like, ‘Hey, if you need something, let us know.’ ”
Erie Street Station will hold a soft opening at 4 p.m. Aug. 1 and a grand opening at 4 p.m. Aug. 2. On Aug. 3, they plan to start normal business hours: Monday through Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Thursday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.